Extreme exercise works, but not for everyone

Exercise is evolving. Many who work out now are seeking to balance high-intensity aerobic exercises with rigorous resistance exercises to maintain and enhance core muscles.

But such workouts remain a matter of balance.

"Some people are overdoing it to the point where some individuals are having breakdowns in the muscle groups."

Going overboard can cause muscle strains, which has a ripple effect through the body.

"Myoglobin (a protein) leaks out of the muscle and goes into the kidney, which can cause problems in kidney function."

Going all out means using common sense.

"The insanity stuff is amazing with the way some of these people can restructure their body, but not everybody is going to be able to do that."

"You've got to know your limits."

Research shows that most people can be categorized as high, moderate and low responders to intense exercise.

These levels of response often are determined by genetics.

Some will increase their strength; others will have a moderate response to the same intensity. And others won't see much strength gain – these are "non-responders."

Professional athletes typically are high-level responders.

But predisposition shouldn't discourage anyone. Do what you feel you can handle. "Moderation will take you a long way."

They’re relatively new ideas in the mainstream fitness world: short sessions that call for bursts of full exertion – and they often yield the same results as hours of working out, practitioners say.

At CrossFit Insanity in Irvine, 30 athletes of all shapes, sizes and skill levels on Monday lifted hundreds of pounds of weight above their heads, part of a workout designed to make the gym’s regulars fully exert themselves in bursts of energy, and it’s that 100-percent mentality that keeps them soaked with sweat but coming back for more.

The recent growth of workout programs and methods such as CrossFit and Tabata, as well as personal training regimens, reflects this change in the fitness industry: short-burst, high-intensity workouts are in. And they work, experts say.

But those who overdo the high-intensity workouts run the risk of breaking down the muscle they’re trying to build up, among other injuries.

At least three of these new-generation workouts are available in Irvine:

CrossFit Insanity

CrossFit is a fitness company and program that has grown exponentially in popularity since the first gym’s founding in the 1990s. Gyms, or “boxes” as CrossFit practitioners call them, began popping up around Irvine in the mid-and-late 2000s – Irvine’s CrossFit Insanity was founded in 2010.

CrossFit’s founder, Greg Glassman, wanted to combine the physical condition of someone who can bench press 400 pounds and someone who can run a 4-minute mile, said Aaron Kennedy, owner and coach at CrossFit Insanity. It developed into a combination of power, gymnastic and endurance training, he said.

CrossFit-affiliated gyms generally have members perform CrossFit’s “Workout of the Day,” but Crossfit Insanity is a strength-biased gym that generally makes up its own grueling one-hour workouts, Kennedy said.

Despite its reputation for intensity, CrossFit isn’t only for super-athletes.

Nick Bonacci of Irvine played sports in high school and college and used to work at 24-hour Fitness, he said.

“Workouts kind of just became mundane and monotonous,” Bonacci said. “CrossFit is always different, it’s always varied and it keeps you motivated.”

CrossFit also is about community and encouraging others, mainly because everyone in the session is doing the same workout, though stronger people may be lifting more weight, he said.

“The first rule they have here is, ‘No one’s a stranger,’” Bonacci said.

CrossFit now has thousands of affiliated gyms across the country, many which have opened within the last 10 years.

Tabata

“Tabata” also is a relatively new word in an athlete’s vocabulary. Invented and named after Japanese physiologist Izumi Tabata, this high-intensity interval workout can fit hours of cardiovascular exercise into an intense four minutes.

Tabata consists of 20-second bursts of movement at 100-percent effort, followed by 10 seconds of rest – eight times. For example, an all-out 20-second sprint would be followed by 10 seconds walking or standing, followed again by another 20-second burst, for eight rounds.

The workout is structured as such to teach the body to recover more quickly during periods of rest, said trainer Kimmel Yeager, who leads Tabata sessions at Equinox gym in Irvine.

Equinox began offering Tabata classes in Orange County in 2010, Yeager said.

By the time Monday’s session ended, 43-year-old Vanessa Dixon, of Newport Beach, was dripping with sweat. It was her first time taking a Tabata class and she had just completed eight repetitions of several different exercises, including sprints, steps and jumps.

“This is crazy,” Dixon said. “It’s very competitive. You don’t want to fall behind and the instructors are (relentless).”

But not in a bad way, she added. “It’s not out of malice; it’s just very intense. (Yeager) definitely motivates you to keep going.”

“This stuff isn’t the alternative anymore. This is the mainstay,” Yeager said.

People today are working out smarter than ever, and as exercise technology and understanding of the body improve, workouts will become shorter, more intense and more focused, she said.

Stark

Stark offers personal training, which includes exercises and nutrition and supplement recommendations – it sets itself apart from other programs in that Stark’s clients rarely are doing the same thing.

An intense workout at Stark doesn’t necessarily mean 100-percent physical exertion, though it’s not uncommon for clients to throw up during their first 45-minute session, said Brad Davidson, who co-founded Stark in 2004.

Aside from exercise and nutrition, Stark puts a lot of weight on post-workout recovery, Davidson said.

“You can only train as hard as you’re recovering,” he said. “Highly-intense exercise can do a lot of damage to the body.”

The rest of Stark’s training targets the client’s goals – trainers oversee their workout, but also monitor their diets, hormones and sleep schedules, Davidson said.

People who want to train hard must first be in a condition to train hard, he said. “You’ve got to feel good first if you want to perform and look good.”

Kelly Cummings of Tustin sees a personal trainer twice a week at Stark. She’s no body-builder or super-athlete, but at 56, she is serious about working out and enjoys that others, from young athletes to moms, are there to do the same.

“People don’t go there just to fiddle around, you go there to work out,” Cummings said.

Her trainer also makes recommendations on her diet, which has made her more conscious about the food she eats in the year-and-a-half she has been attending Stark.

The personal training may cost more than training at a regular gym, but the attention at Stark is worth it, Cummings said.

“I’m not going to get hurt there,” she said. “I know I’m being well looked after.”

But the trainers still don’t let you slack off, she said.

“And I like that otherwise I probably would,” she said. “They push you to do as much as you can do, but they make sure you’re doing it properly.”

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